A Study Guide for W. H. Auden's "As I Walked Out One Evening"

By Gale and Cengage

A Study Guide for W. H. Auden's "As I Walked Out One Evening," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Poetry for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Poetry for Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: Aug 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535818780

Book preview

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As I Walked Out One Evening

W. H. Auden

1940

Introduction

W. H. Auden is considered one of the most important English poets of the twentieth century. He is noted for his strong lyrical voice, technical craftsmanship, and sharp intelligence. Auden quickly gained a reputation as a talented poet while still a young man (publishing his first book at only 26), and was considered by many during his lifetime to be a spokesperson for a whole generation of writers.

First published in the collection Another Time (1940), As I Walked Out One Evening describes an allegorical conversation between Love and Time as they discuss the power of love to conquer eternity. The speaker, walking down to the river one evening, overhears two lovers pledging their undying devotion to each other. Just as their promises reach the peak of melodrama, the clocks around the city begin to chime, interrupting the two. The speaker imagines this interruption as the clock’s way of reminding us we are mortal creatures, unable to transcend Time. In that chiming he hears a voice which scolds the lovers and their "crooked